First day that I saw Nick Gonzalez in Raidenton, I didn't bug him. I didn't know where his head would be.

The second day, got a really, really, really good response.

Morning to you.

Good.

Thursday morning.

I had to think about it for a second.

I'm Dan Kovachovich of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports.

This is Daily Shot of Pirates that comes your way, bright and early every weekday,

and is brought to you by the North Shore Tavern,

home of steak on a stone.

If you're into football and or hockey,

I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Penguins in the same place that you found this.

Pirates split a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium yesterday,

winning five to three in ten innings, and then losing the nightcap 2 to nothing,

probably the overall highlight of the day was that the starting pitchers, both of them.

Mitch Keller and then Bubba Chandler did really well.

Combining for 11 and 2 thirds innings of scoreless baseball,

Keller's five innings saw him give up three hits and a couple of walks.

He struck out six.

It felt like his stuff, he'd say

afterward, was a lot more crisp than it had been of late. Chandler pitched into the seventh

inning, allowed only two hits and a walk. He struck out five. He had some really, really good

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